Water Rangers

Did you know turtles can breath through their butts under the water?

Get to know our next webinar speaker for the Freshwater Stewardship Community! Juno is an ecologist focused on environmental justice and community based ecosyst...em management, aiming to help communities produce their own visions of sustainable futures. She is currently the Science Education Coordinator and Open Data Manager for Water Rangers, and based on unsurrendered Algonquin territory in the Mississippi Valley, ON. She holds an M.Sc. in Natural Resource Sciences from McGill University, and a B.Sc. (Honours) in Environment, also from McGill. Juno will present on February 24th at 2pm EST. Register here: http://watersheds.ca/freshwater-stewardship

Getting excited about the next Aquahacking challenge? I know we are! Gabi, our Director, is one of the issue leaders. Tune in to hear her inspiring advice!

Thanks, Random Acts of Green for this great post! If you're thinking about naturalizing your shoreline, you should check out The Natural Edge by Watersheds Canada!

Want to learn how to start or improve your own water monitoring program? Check out this free webinar hosted by Watersheds Canada and our Environmental Education Coordinator, Juno!

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What do these seemingly unrelated pictures have in common, and how are they related to water in any way?! These were just some of the pictures taken by our City of Ottawa scavenger hunters this past summer! That’s right- 21 families from the City of Ottawa participated in our first ever water quality scavenger hunt from July to October of this year. This program provided them with a fun, safe way to enjoy the outdoors as a family, and was a resounding success! ... Want to learn more? Check out our latest blog post here!: http://ow.ly/fF5V50CsD5w See more

Another update from the field! Our amazing partners at Northern Youth Leadership have teamed up with the Arctic Research Foundation, taking a crew of youth from the NWT for a week of hands-on cutting edge science aboard the ARF's research vessel, the Nahidik. Living and working aboard Nahidik on Great Slave Lake, youth participated in research on climate change and adaptation, including taking measurements with their own Water Rangers testkits! Here, two youth leaders are t...aking dissolved oxygen measurements on one of the deepest spots on Great Slave Lake -- over 600m deep! We are so grateful to funding from CRSNG / NSERC #PromoScience that made this part of the expedition possible. And don't worry- all youth participants received negative COVID-19 tests prior to this activity, and followed safety procedures including daily screening, regular hand-washing, healthy respiratory practices, and wearing masks in confined spaces

Why do students love water testing? It’s probably because it gives them a chance to get out of their seats and onto the water, but it’s also more than that. It’s the fact that they are participating in a huge project, contributing data to change the way that decisions are made around Canada’s freshwater. This week, while testing in Collingwood, Ontario as part of the amazing outdoor education program at Simcoe District SB, one student remarked Mme, we are actually do...ing real Science! We’re so glad that our funding from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada PromoScience helps get future water leaders onto the water doing science NOW! See more

We were so excited to get an important field update the other day from our friends in Southern Ontario! Some of our homeschool students have been testing water on Spring Creek near Burlington, ON on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, Haudenosaunee, and Anishinabeg. Here’s what they had to report: Water testing has helped us to be more in tune with our surroundings, and we’ve been able to observe some amazing things, including some activity from ou...r local busy beaver! Thanks for being Water Rangers and all star homeschool explorers! This exciting mail-out program was made possible through our partners at Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada PromoScience. Keep an eye out for more mail-out opportunities to kick off the spring testing season!

Reminder- this is tonight at 6pm! Make sure to register if you haven't already, and don't forget to vote for Water Rangers!

Last week, we were THRILLED to send out the final testkits funded by NSERC / CRSNG PromoScience to some amazing outdoor educators in Renfrew County. Through this program, we have distributed over 100 test kits to educators across the country, from BC to Newfoundland to the Northwest Territories. We now have a whole team of new youth leaders and budding Water Rangers equipped to take freshwater conservation to the next level in their communities. From classrooms to canoe...s, water rangers kits helped educators provide hands-on, experiential environmental education this testing season. Next year, we will be completely restocked, with over 100 more testkits to supply to educators! Get in touch if you are interested in joining our growing team next spring, with access to educational resources, webinars, excursions, community groups, and the support of our incredible education coordinator. Can’t wait to see you on the water! See more